by Nikki Machin

There’s been a lot of buzz around Portugal for years. Permaculture communities have been popping up all over the country, at a time when a growing number of people just want to escape modern life. People are living off the land, often off-grid, in these beautiful landscapes, and I wanted to try it for myself.

I reached out to Vale Ondulaa, a small permaculture community about an hour’s drive from Porto, and arranged to stay there for a month. This is how it changed the way I was eating, for the better.

Outdoor kitchen

One of my favourite things about living at Vale Ondula was the outdoor kitchen. Being able to cook while feeling the wind, breathing in the fresh air and feeling the vibrant sun on your skin makes a huge difference.

Time spent in nature lowers your stress hormones. Stress hormones can reduce your digestive system’s ability to function. Just eating outdoors may have a positive impact on your digestion on its own, but if you extend your time outdoors by also cooking there, it stands to reason that you would benefit even more.

Spending more time outdoors can actually impact your choice of foods as well. Cooking outdoors reconnects you to nature, sensuality and health, which in turn influences you to choose healthier foods and to think of health from an embodied sense rather than to keep up appearances.

Fresh from the tree

I grew up in Canada, buying citrus from the store. Canada doesn’t have the right climate for citrus fruits, so we import them. These imported fruits often sit for weeks after harvest, maybe even as long as two months, once you factor in time at the store and at home before ultimately eating them. This can lead to 20-40% nutrient losses over time alone.

Vale Ondula used to be an orchard, and some of the fruit trees are still alive and well.

I arrived in February 2025, just at the height of citrus season. Fresh oranges and lemons weighed down a line of trees at one of the upper levels. Every day, I would eat multiple fresh oranges and squeeze at least one lemon onto my fresh salads. The taste was unbelievable, as was the impact on my health.

Fruit is at its most nutritious (and most delicious!) when it has been allowed to ripen on the tree, and then eaten shortly after harvesting. The less time between picking and eating, the better. Vitamin C, in particular, increases substantially at full ripeness, and picking too early significantly reduces the overall Vitamin C content. Eating oranges like this gives you a double boost in nutrition; one boost from ripening fully on the plant, and another from reducing the time between harvesting and eating.

Wild food

There are many good reasons to eat organic foods over conventionally grown plant foods. One of the biggest reasons is the environmental impact that agrochemicals and conventional farming practices have on the land.

Overall, more studies are needed to determine whether organic foods are actually more nutritious than conventionally grown produce. However, a recent meta-analysis pointed to a favourable micronutrient profile in organic foods.

At Vale Ondula, all of the food is organic. In addition to the fresh fruit and wild greens, we had a weekly bundle of produce from a nearby organic farm. Modern food systems separate us from the land our food grows on, and the people who grow it. While some organic foods were bought at the store in town, the vast majority of the food was grown locally and organically, fostering a deeper sense of community and relationship with the land.

Living well, in community

My time in Portugal was unforgettable, and by the end of that month, I could see a noticeable difference in the quality of my hair, skin and mood. I felt better on so many levels. Taking things slow, living in close community with all ages, and eating fresh, whole, organic plant foods outdoors was exactly what I needed.

These people are onto something.